XC Championships to be Run at Saratoga State Park Nov. 2

XC Championships to be Run at Saratoga State Park Nov. 2

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Women's 5K course map 

Men's 8K course map

Finish Right Timing Website 

Previous E8 Champions: Women | Men


Saratoga Springs will host some of the best distance runners this weekend as the Empire 8 Athletic Conference men’s and women’s cross country championships take place on Saturday November 2, beginning at 10:45 a.m. with the 5k women’s race followed by the 8k men’s race at 11:30 am. Eight schools will take on the course laid out over Saratoga Spa State Park with the goal of hoisting the Empire 8 Championship plaque in triumph.
 
The Ithaca women who rank tenth in the Atlantic region are looking to defend the team title. The Bombers tallied just 27 points in 2012 to remain the only school to win the title since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2003.
 
Prior to last year, a Bomber student-athlete has won the individual championship from 2003-2011.  Stevens’ Amy Regan broke the Ithaca individual streak with a winning time of 18:08.46 in 2012.
 
Regan returns as a favorite to win the individual crown. Should Regan win, she will become the third E8 athlete to win back-to-back titles, joining Rachel Blasiak (2005 & 2006) and Lindsey Nadolski (2007 & 2008).
 
Utica sophomore Ashton Villeneueve will challenge Regan for top honors. Villeneueve placed third a year ago (18:34.63) and has been named the E8 women’s cross country runner of the week four times this season.  She shattered the Utica school record for a 5K race on as she cruised to a convincing first place finish in a time of 17:55 and was named the USTFCCCA Division III Athlete of the Week for her performance.
 
Utica senior Katie Day placed third in 2011 and 18th in 2012 and is hoping her veteran experience will earn her all-conference honors once again.
 
Ithaca junior Alexa Rick, 2011 Rookie of the Year, returns after a second place individual finish in 2012 and is expected to be found at the front of the pack with Regan and Villeneueve.
 
The Bombers also return five more top ten finishers in Anna Fay (4), Anastasia Diamond (6), Emily Smith (7), Jaime Lisack (8) and Carolyn Malone (9). Another asset for the Bombers is graduate student Jenn Randall, who won the title in 2009 as a freshman, and returns after not competing the last two seasons as she focused her efforts as a standout middle-distance runner on the track and field team.
 
Senior Lauren Heitzhaus returns to lead Nazareth after a 19th place finish in 2012 and will be joined by Gabrielle LeBihan, a transfer from Colgate University.
 
St. John Fisher is in its third year of competition as a varsity sport is looking to move up in the team standings. Freshman Anna Phillips has been the lead runner for the Cardinals all season and could find herself in the mix of all-conference honors.
 
Alfred’s Traci Forrester and Hartwick’s Monica Prager are two additional runners to watch for in the women’s race.
 
Houghton returns to the course for the second year in Empire 8 and will rely on Leah Williams and Cara Davenport to lead the way.
 
 
On the men’s side the top 15 will look quite different due to six runners not returning due to graduation. 
 
However, Ithaca has five returners who placed in the top 20 last year and are favored to repeat as Empire 8 champions and earn their fourth straight title and seventh overall. An Ithaca student-athlete has claimed the individual title on five occasions, will 2013 mark the sixth time?
 
Sophomore Sawyer Hitchcock, the 2012 Rookie of the Year, and junior Dennis Ryan will pace the Bombers along with newcomer Sean Phillips. Phillips has had a breakout rookie campaign as he has earned E8 Runner of the Week honors three times and most recently placed 10th at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference Championship.
 
Stevens Institute of Technology has never had an individual win the E8 championship, but that could change in 2013.  Senior Michael Cahill and junior Thomas Cunningham return as two-time first-team All-Conference honorees. Cahill finished as runner up in 2012, missing out on top honors by five seconds and Cunningham placed seventh overall.
 
Utica senior Morgan Payne will be looking for his third straight top-15 finish as he placed 13th in 2011 and third in 2012. Sam Anderson has had a solid first year for the Pioneers and if rookie nerves don’t get in the way he should have a shot at an all-conference performance.
 
Nazareth features three returners to the championship course from a year ago. Senior Matt Fedrizzi has been the top Golden Flyer throughout the season and is hoping to break into the top-15 for the first time in his career.
 
Hartwick junior Gavin Jenkins, St. John Fisher junior Evan Magnussen and Alfred freshman Kevin Dixon have each been the constant leader for their respective teams all fall.
 
Houghton sophomore Timothy McGowan earned second-team all-conference honors a year ago with a ninth place finish and will be looking to repeat his performance.
 
As an NCAA provisional member, Houghton is not eligible for the overall team championship however they will have a team score and place and individual athletes will be considered for all-conference honors.
 
Please continue to check the Finish Right Timing Website for official results and the Empire 8 website for complete information, including scoring updates, official results and more. And become a fan on twitter @Empire8 for race day updates.